What is so special about fortune cookies that we can’t leave a Chinese restaurant before we receive one? A fortune cookie is not just a free dessert, and it’s not something that we crave for its taste, but we love them. Why? I think, we all have the answer. Have you ever tried to just put it in your pocket after receiving it? Friends around me would not let me alone until they heard my fortune message. Or, has it ever happened to you that nothing was inside? What does that mean, anyway?! It is indeed the message in the cookies that we can’t wait to read and share.

Most of them are either an advice or a ‘fortune’ statement: “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” Or, “Now is the time to try something new.” Some fortunes are funny: “If you eat something and no one sees you eat it, it has no calories.” Or, “The fortune you seek is in another cookie.”

But one, that I recently had that caught my attention: “Do what you love and the necessary resources will follow.” This is so true for vocations. When we do what we love, we can give our 100%. It is hard to give our best when we don’t like what we do. Frederick Buechner once said: “Vocation is the place where our greatest joy meets the world’s greatest need.” We are called to do what’s rooted in our heart’s desire. God calls us to love. Each of us is called to live out the mission of love, either as a vowed religious, as a single person, as an associate, or as a parent.

Many people spend a lot of time wrestling with God’s call. I know for myself, I let God keep nudging me until I gave it a try. Now, I know, and the fortune cookie also reminded me: “Do what you love and the necessary resources will follow.”

What is God calling you to? If you would like to talk about living out your call as a vowed religious sister, contact us at vocations@oppeace.org.